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Nevada Drone Laws: Trespass, Warrants & Critical Facilities

Independently fact-checkedEditor-reviewedLaw current as of August 17, 2026By Recording Law Editorial TeamReviewed August 31, 202610 min read

Independently fact-checked against primary sources (last audited August 17, 2026). · Reviewed by the RecordingLaw editorial team. · Law checked current as of August 17, 2026. · 2 primary sources cited on this page. How we verify our legal content

Nevada Drone Laws: Trespass, Warrants & Critical Facilities

Nevada regulates drones more thoroughly than most states. A civil trespass law lets a property owner sue over repeated low overflights, NRS 493.112 requires police to get a warrant before using a drone to gather evidence at a place someone has a reasonable expectation of privacy, and separate statutes ban weaponized drones and set no-fly buffers around critical facilities and airports.

This guide is part of our Drone Laws by State series; for the broader rules on recording people and property in Nevada, see our surveillance camera laws guide.

Jurisdiction scope: This article addresses Nevada law governing private and law-enforcement drone use under NRS 493.103, 493.106, 493.109, and 493.112. It does not address FAA registration, Remote ID, or Part 107 pilot certification, which apply the same way nationwide regardless of state law.

How Federal and Nevada Law Divide Drone Authority

The FAA regulates where a drone may fly. Under 49 U.S.C. section 40102, it treats any unmanned aircraft as an "aircraft," which pulls it into the national airspace system regardless of size. A commercial or government flight generally needs a Remote Pilot Certificate under 14 C.F.R. Part 107, while a hobbyist flight falls under the separate statutory exception at 49 U.S.C. section 44809. Most registrable drones must also broadcast Remote ID.

None of that answers what a Nevada drone operator may do with a camera, or when Nevada police need a warrant. Those are state trespass, privacy, and criminal-procedure questions, and Nevada has built one of the more detailed state-level drone codes in the country into NRS Chapter 493, first enacted in 2015 under Assembly Bill 239.

Small grey quadcopter drone hovering over a field at dusk with an operator holding a controller

Can a Private Citizen Legally Fly a Drone Over My Property in Nevada?

Generally yes, on a single pass. Nevada does not ban a drone from briefly transiting the airspace above private land. What NRS 493.103 punishes is a repeat, unauthorized, low-altitude overflight after the owner has objected. Specifically, a property owner or lawful occupant can sue a drone owner or operator for trespass if the drone flew below 250 feet over the property, the operator had already flown at that altitude over the property on a prior occasion, and the owner gave the operator notice, in a manner recognized under NRS 207.200, that the flight was not authorized.

A plaintiff who wins recovers treble damages for the trespass, plus possible attorney's fees, costs, and an injunction. Subsection 2 lists the flights that cannot be sued over: a drone lawfully in the flight path for landing at an airport, airfield, or runway; a drone in the process of taking off or landing; a drone under the lawful operation of a law enforcement agency acting in accordance with NRS 493.112 or of another public agency acting in accordance with NRS 493.115; and a drone under the lawful operation of a business registered in this State, or of a land surveyor, where the operator is licensed or otherwise approved to fly it by the FAA, the flight is within the scope of the lawful activities of that business or surveyor, and it does not unreasonably interfere with the property's existing use. Note what the last exemption does and does not require: Nevada issues no drone-operator license of its own, so the state-side condition is business registration in Nevada, and the pilot credential comes from the FAA.

Separately, Nevada's general voyeurism statute, NRS 200.604, bars knowingly capturing an image of someone's private area without consent where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, a gross misdemeanor on a first offense and a category E felony on a later one. It does not mention drones specifically, but its definition of "capture" (to videotape, photograph, film, record by any means, or broadcast) is broad enough to reach a drone-mounted camera used the same way a hidden camera would be.

Does Police Need a Warrant to Fly a Drone Over My Property in Nevada?

Yes, as the default rule. NRS 493.112 bars a law enforcement agency from operating a drone to gather evidence or other information within the curtilage of a residence, or at any other location in Nevada where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, unless the agency first obtains a warrant from a court of competent jurisdiction authorizing that specific use. A warrant issued under the statute is limited to 10 days, though it can be renewed. Information gathered in violation of the section is not admissible in a judicial, administrative, or other adjudicatory proceeding, and cannot be used to establish reasonable suspicion or probable cause for anything else, a rule that applies equally to other government entities that obtain drone data unlawfully.

The warrant requirement gives way in several defined circumstances: probable cause to believe that a person has committed a crime, is committing a crime, or is about to commit a crime combined with exigent circumstances that make it unreasonable for the agency to obtain a warrant; written consent that specifies the information to be gathered and the time, place, and manner of gathering it; search-and-rescue operations; an imminent threat to life or public safety (which requires a sworn statement filed within two business days); and a gubernatorial state-of-emergency or disaster declaration, limited to the declared area.

That first exception is now the center of a live dispute in Nevada. The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department's Drone as First Responder program, branded Blue Sky, grew from about 345 deployments in May 2025 to roughly 2,270 in April 2026, and the department flew more than 10,000 drone missions in 2025, reportedly the most of any police agency in the country. Because Metro treats routine 911 dispatches as emergencies, it argues most of those flights qualify without an individual warrant. The statutory test is narrower than that framing suggests: NRS 493.112(3)(a) requires probable cause of a specific crime as well as exigency, not merely an urgent-sounding call. The ACLU of Nevada and the Electronic Frontier Foundation have criticized Metro's approach as turning a narrow emergency exception into standing surveillance, particularly as the drones carry cameras that can resolve detail from roughly 2,000 feet away.

Critical Facilities, Airport Buffers, and Weaponized Drones

Beyond the trespass and warrant rules, Nevada restricts where a drone may fly near sensitive sites. NRS 493.109 bars operating a drone within 500 feet horizontally or 250 feet vertically of a "critical facility," unless the owner consents in writing. NRS 493.020, the chapter's general definitions section, defines "critical facility" to include a refinery, a chemical or petroleum production, transportation, storage, or processing facility, a pipeline, a water or wastewater treatment plant, a mine, a power plant or substation, certain electric transmission lines, and a jail, prison, or Department of Corrections facility. NRS 493.109 also bars flying within 5 miles of an airport unless the operator has the consent of the airport authority or the airport's operator, or has obtained a waiver, exemption, or other FAA authorization, and it requires the operator to carry documentation of that consent or authorization at all times during the flight. Violating NRS 493.109 is a misdemeanor.

NRS 493.106 goes further for armed drones: it is a category D felony to equip a drone with a weapon or to operate one that is already weaponized, and the offense escalates to a category C felony if the weaponized drone is actually discharged.

Outside Chapter 493, Nevada's wildlife code regulates drones by name. NRS 503.010 makes it unlawful to harass any game mammals or game birds with a manned or unmanned aircraft, to shoot at game with a weapon from a manned or unmanned aircraft, or to spot or locate game with any kind of manned or unmanned aircraft and communicate that location to a person on the ground within 24 hours for the purpose of hunting or trapping. Subsection 9 defines "aircraft" to include any unmanned aerial vehicle as defined in NRS 493.020, so a camera drone is squarely covered. A violation is a misdemeanor under NRS 501.385, punishable by a fine of $50 to $500, up to 6 months in county jail, or both, and NRS 501.3857 subjects an aircraft used to locate big game that way to forfeiture. NRS 503.005 separately makes it a misdemeanor to kill or attempt to kill birds or animals while flying in an aircraft.

QuestionNevada rule
Civil trespass for low overflightsNRS 493.103: below 250 ft, repeat flight, prior notice required; treble damages
Law enforcement warrant requirementNRS 493.112: warrant required for curtilage/privacy-expectation areas, capped at 10 days
Critical facility bufferNRS 493.109: 500 ft horizontal / 250 ft vertical without written consent; misdemeanor
Airport bufferNRS 493.109: 5 miles without consent or FAA authorization; misdemeanor
Weaponized droneNRS 493.106: category D felony, category C if discharged
Drone use in huntingNRS 503.010: unlawful to harass, shoot at, or spot game with a manned or unmanned aircraft; misdemeanor under NRS 501.385
Shooting down a droneFederal felony regardless of location, 18 U.S.C. section 32

Watch out: NRS 493.103's trespass action is narrower than it first appears. A single low flyover is not enough; the statute requires a prior unauthorized flight plus notice to the operator before a second flight becomes actionable. A one-time overflight may still support a nuisance or NRS 200.604 privacy claim, but not a claim under 493.103 itself.

Can I Shoot Down a Drone Over My Nevada Property?

No. Federal law makes it a serious crime to damage, destroy, or disable any drone, including one hovering low over your own yard. 18 U.S.C. section 32, the Aircraft Sabotage Act, criminalizes willfully damaging an "aircraft," a category the FAA has applied to drones since 2012. A conviction carries up to 20 years in federal prison, a fine up to $250,000, and the permanent loss of Second Amendment rights that follows any federal felony. The FAA's position, echoed in its own public guidance, is that it controls the national airspace, not the landowner below, so owning the ground does not create a right to fire on what is above it. No Nevada statute, including the trespass and privacy provisions in NRS Chapter 493, authorizes a landowner to disable or shoot down a drone as a matter of right.

More Nevada Laws

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Nevada require a warrant for police drone surveillance?

Yes, as the default rule. NRS 493.112 requires a warrant before a law enforcement agency uses a drone to gather evidence within a residence's curtilage or anywhere else a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy, subject to exceptions that include probable cause plus exigent circumstances, written consent, and search and rescue.

Can my neighbor legally fly a drone over my yard in Nevada?

A single flight is not itself a crime, but NRS 493.103 lets you sue for trespass, with treble damages, if the drone flies below 250 feet over your property on a repeat occasion after you have given the operator notice the flight is unauthorized.

What is NRS 493.112?

Nevada's law enforcement drone warrant statute. It bars police from using a drone to gather evidence at a location where someone has a reasonable expectation of privacy without a warrant, and makes evidence gathered in violation inadmissible.

Why can Las Vegas police fly drones without a warrant for every call?

NRS 493.112(3)(a) allows a warrantless flight only where the agency has probable cause to believe a person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime and exigent circumstances make obtaining a warrant unreasonable. LVMPD's Drone as First Responder program treats most 911 dispatches as qualifying emergencies, which civil liberties groups argue stretches an exception that on its face requires probable cause of a specific crime.

How close can a drone fly to a jail, power plant, or refinery in Nevada?

Not within 500 feet horizontally or 250 feet vertically without the owner's written consent. NRS 493.109 sets that buffer and makes a violation a misdemeanor; the term 'critical facility' is defined in NRS 493.020, and it covers jails, prisons, refineries, power plants and substations, pipelines, mines, and water and wastewater treatment facilities.

Is it legal to fly a weaponized drone in Nevada?

No. NRS 493.106 makes equipping or operating a weaponized drone a category D felony, and a category C felony if the weapon is actually discharged.

Is it legal to shoot down a drone over my property in Nevada?

No. Federal law, 18 U.S.C. section 32, makes destroying any aircraft, including a drone, a felony regardless of where it is flying or whose property is below it. No Nevada statute creates an exception.

Does Nevada have a drone hunting law?

Yes, though it sits in the wildlife code rather than in NRS Chapter 493. NRS 503.010 makes it unlawful to harass game mammals or game birds with a manned or unmanned aircraft, to shoot at game with a weapon from one, or to spot game from one and relay that location to a person on the ground within 24 hours for hunting or trapping. The section's definition of 'aircraft' expressly includes unmanned aerial vehicles, and a violation is a misdemeanor under NRS 501.385.

Updates

Corrected the page to state that NRS 503.010 does regulate drone use in hunting and game harassment, named NRS 493.109 (not NRS 493.020) as the source of the 5-mile airport rule, attributed the "critical facility" definition to NRS 493.020 in the FAQ, restated the NRS 493.103 exemptions to match the statute (business registration in Nevada plus FAA approval, not a Nevada operator license), and corrected the NRS 493.112 warrantless-flight standard to probable cause plus exigent circumstances.

Independently fact-checked against the cited primary sources; governing law re-checked for recent changes

Corrected the source of Nevada's 'critical facility' definition: it is defined in NRS 493.020, the chapter's general definitions section, not within NRS 493.109 itself (which only defines 'airport').

Governing law re-checked for recent changes

Reviewed and approved by an editor

Sources and References

  1. NRS Chapter 493, General Provisions (unmanned aerial vehicles)(leg.state.nv.us).gov
  2. NRS 493.103, action for trespass against owner or operator of an unmanned aerial vehicle(nevada.public.law)
  3. NRS 493.109, operation of unmanned aerial vehicle near critical facility or within 5 miles of airport prohibited(leg.state.nv.us).gov
  4. NRS 493.112, operation of unmanned aerial vehicle by law enforcement agency; warrant required under certain circumstances(nevada.public.law)
  5. NRS 493.106, weaponized unmanned aerial vehicles prohibited(nevada.public.law)
  6. 18 U.S.C. section 32, destruction of aircraft or aircraft facilities(law.cornell.edu)
  7. The Nevada Independent, Vegas police are filling the sky with camera-equipped drones. Residents have little input.(thenevadaindependent.com)
  8. NRS 493.020, definitions (including "critical facility") for the Uniform State Law for Aeronautics, NRS 493.010 to 493.120(leg.state.nv.us)
  9. NRS 503.010, manner of hunting or trapping: unlawful use of certain modes of transportation, including manned or unmanned aircraft(leg.state.nv.us)
  10. NRS 501.385, unlawful acts under the wildlife title; misdemeanor penalties(leg.state.nv.us)
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